D-League notes: Semis set to start

Here are some notes in advance of the Sioux Falls vs. Fort Wayne series in the NBA D-League semifinals. Game 1 is tonight at the Sanford Pentagon.

Force center Chris Ayer appeared in just one game in the quarterfinal round, logging eight minutes. But in that time he blocked a shot at went 1 of 1 from the field. Sioux Falls wound up winning by four.
It was the first field goal for the 6-foot-10 veteran since March 13. That was also the last time he played so many minutes.
"He's the ultimate professional," coach Pat Delany said. "We just love having him around."

Fort Wayne is a Summit League city and its team has a couple of Summit League ties. Guard Ron Howard, the career points leader in the D-League, played at Valparaiso when the Summit was known as the Mid-Continent Conference. And guard Trey McKinney-Jones played for then-Summit member Kansas City prior to transferring to Miami.

Sioux Falls starter Henry Walker was limited in practice Wednesday as a precaution. He took a couple of hard spills in a Game 3 win over Canton on Monday.

Force fans should be plenty familiar with Mad Ants forward Chris Porter. He's been playing against Sioux Falls on and off since 2002, mostly with the Dakota Wizards.
Fort Wayne post Will Frisby also played for the Wizards for a couple of seasons beginning in 2007. On a related note, the Wizards are now known as the Santa Cruz Warriors and are in the D-League semis against Rio Grande Valley.

Sioux Falls is hopeful that Round 2 is a fresh start for guard Larry Drew II. He averaged 11.4 points 7.0 assists and 3.4 boards in a strong regular season. But against Canton he went for 4.3 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 boards. His shooting line for the series: 4 of 22.
Delany said that he'll try to do a better job of putting Drew in positions where he can attack and have success.

The Mad Ants are in the playoffs for the 2nd time since their formation in 2007. Last season marked their first time finishing over .500 – that was under the coaching of Duane Ticknor, a South Dakota native and former Force assistant now with the Memphis Grizzlies. The club is affiliated with six NBA teams, the most of anybody in the D-League. Those are: Charlotte, Detroit, Indiana, Memphis, Milwaukee and Orlando.

Fort Wayne super sub Tony Mitchell is a player to watch. He scored 49 points in a game at the Arena last season, one shy of the most ever scored against the Force.

Here's a weird stat: At 2-1, Delany already is third in franchise history for most playoff wins as coach. Dave Joerger is second with eight and Mo McHone is first at 29. Both of the guys ahead of Delany have been head coaches in the NBA.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.